Perfection Painted Red
by Cry4theDevil
Summary: Shane wipes the blood off Rick's face and discovers something he's always sort of known. rick/shane "bloodletting" scene


They had ran what felt like miles, through thick forest and fields of grain. It all was a blur now, just a fuzzy memory faded by adrenaline and fear. Shane had watched Rick as he disappeared into the house, Carl's body appeared so mangled, his legs dangling limply from his fathers embrace. His condition had been predictable. Painful. Shane didn't kept his distance as his best friend struggled to fight off the looming shadow of death. The moment Rick emerged from the house he was there, pulling out a pink cloth to wipe vibrant blood from Rick's face. He tried not to succumb to the others grief but it was hard. He had never seen Rick like this, standing in shock, teetering dangerously on the edge of sanity and nothingness. He had never seen Rick this broken.

He pressed the cloth into Rick's stained hands.

"Here," he murmured softly, "wipe your hands."

The moment he released the material to Rick he knew he had made the wrong decision. Rick glanced down and Shane saw the hurt flash across glassy blue eyes at the sight of his bloody hands. Hands soaked in Carl's blood, his son. Shane reached out as Rick swayed to the left, his face that had already been pale having gone a shade lighter.

"Hey, hey," Shane said, "don't go and keel over, Carl needs you, hell, I need you."

His words were met with cold silence in the teasingly painful heat of the day. And then Rick looked at him and he saw a clarity present that hadn't been there moments before.

"You..." Rick trailed off, his voice weak. "You need me?"

Shane felt the question more than he heard it. He nodded slowly, unsure of how Rick might react. It was surprised, to say the least, when he felt Rick against him. The slim body of his best friend pressed desperately to him, trembling hands grasping at his shirt. Shane hadn't ever really taken into account how small Rick was compared to him but now he felt the difference and he wondered how he had missed it all these years. He gingerly wrapped an arm around Rick and wasn't surprised to feel the others clothing drenched in sweat. He rubbed Rick's back.

"It's okay," he said in a hushed tone of voice as Rick pressed his face to his shoulder. "Just let it out."

He sighed sadly as Rick cried into his shirt, stifling sobs by smothering himself. When most of the tears had stopped Rick peeled himself away and stood a few feet from Shane. They stared at each other for what felt like hours and then something broke in Rick. Suddenly their lips were pressed together, their mouths joined and tongues mingling almost blissfully in the no-mans-land between. It was perfection, his mouth on Rick's, their teeth clashing at times. And then the sound of someone clearing their throat tore them apart.

In unison they jumped away from each other. Out of the corner of his eye Shane saw Rick turn his back and face out toward the field, nervously toying with the rim of his shirt. Shane averted his gaze only when the person did it again. He stared challengingly at the old man standing before him, daring him to say anything about what he had seen.

"He'll need blood soon," he said in a calm, knowing voice, and then without so much as another word or look he turned and retreated back into the house.

Shane let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at Rick. In the burning glare of the sun he saw new transparent pearls cascading down the slopes of his cheeks.

"Rick—"

"Lori needs to know," Rick said, cutting him off. "Lori needs to know about Carl."

Shane didn't reply. Instead he watched Rick enter the house. He nodded after his friend was out of sight.

Lori did need to know about Carl, but whether she needed to know about them he wasn't sure. He pressed his fingers to his lips.

"Oh, Rick," he sighed as he entered the house. "First you got shot, then the world came to a complete stop. What have we gotten into this time..."

**end.**

**a/n:** _so i hate shane & i never liked rick either. i wrote this because it wouldn't leave after watching "bloodletting". and i know, here i am spewing out this crap when i could be working on "Not Entirely Alone". hush people, it'll get a new chapter soon enough, i'm currently at a crossroads so there is some decision making to do. _

_now i know this drabble is muddled up and not in order but whatever. i don't like shane or rick but i think i can appreciate them more now. _


End file.
